Modern Life
by badwolf-27
Summary: What would the characters of CoAD be like in present times? Some TorakxRenn, rated T only to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is only my second CoAD Fanfiction. The first was a one-shot so this is going to be a multi-chapter :) Oh, and just so you don't get confused, this is set im modern times (like present) but isn't set in a particular city or country. **

Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series or its characters; I only own my idea and writing.

**Chapter 1 **

* * *

Renn drew her left arm back and, with her right arm pointed towards the dartboard for aim, she closed one eye and swiftly threw the small metal projectile in her hand.

Thud.

A bullseye.

Her brother groaned, "I don't know why I even accept your challenges. You always win"

Renn flashed him a sharp toothed grin, "Come on Hord, one more game!"

"No can do, if I don't leave now I'm going to be late," The young man said as he made his way back inside the house.

Renn called after him, "Aww, don't want to be late picking up Dyrati?"

"Shut up!"

Renn laughed to herself. _I hope he looks after this one, _she thought. Hord didn't have a very good history when it came to girls.

She turned her head back to the board, her dart still hung by its tip. Renn opened her dart case back up and made to retrieve it. As she carefully pulled it out Renn noticed that the bullseye circle was getting very worn. They would need a new board soon. Her uncle Fin wouldn't be happy about that.

Renn gave a sigh and placed the dart back in its case. Before closing the lid she ran a finger across the cool metal and admired the black ravens on each of the plastic flights. She had practice at school tomorrow. At 16 Renn was the oldest member of the darts team, most people dropped out after the first few years of high school.

When anyone asked her why she stayed, Renn usually played the excuse that it was because her uncle was the coach. But really, she just loved the sport. Which annoyed the heck out of her gran Saeunn who was always nagging her to focus on her grades.

Yes, Renn was top of her class in almost all her subjects, but Darts was her real passion. She didn't listen to gran Saeunn much; she wasn't even her real gran, she was just a close friend of Uncle Fin.

There was a bang from inside the house indicating that Hord had left for his date. Renn rolled her eyes, he didn't even say goodbye. She gave another sigh, picked up her case, closed the board doors and went back inside the house. She checked her watch, 9:30pm.

Uncle Fin was sitting in the lounge room reading when she walked in. Renn went over to him, "I'm going to bed," she stated.

Fin flicked his eyes from the pages to her face, "Well, goodnight then. Don't forget it's your turn to cook breakfast for gran tomorrow"

"I know, I know. I'll remember," she was about to walk away but turned back and gave the redheaded man a hug, "Night uncle Fin"

He gave a deep laugh, "Goodnight, Renn"

Renn smiled and made her way upstairs to her room. It didn't take her long to get ready for bed and soon she was turning off her light and getting under the covers. She looked out her window like she did every night.

There was a flash of light.

Renn frowned and got out of bed. She walked over to the window and peered out.

Across the road, a black car had pulled up. That was Bale's house. _Who would be going over Bale's at 10pm? _She wondered. Renn knew that he didn't have a girlfriend and his father wasn't one to let him party late.

She stopped her musings as the passenger door opened and someone got out. It was too dark to see what they looked like. The driver got out as well and opened the back door of the car. While the driver carried luggage to the house, the passenger went around to the side door. To Renn's surprise a large dog got out.

The door to Bale's house opened and the boy and the dog went inside, but the other man got into the car and drove away. It was all very odd.

Renn decided that she would go over Bale's in the morning before school. Bale was always up early even though he finished school last year. It was either to for work at the local store or to go to the beach.

'The early bird catches the wave', as he would say.

Renn gave a yawn as the lights of Bale's house went out. She set her alarm for fifteen minutes earlier than usual, seeing as she had to make breakfast for gran, and hopped back into bed.

* * *

**So there you go, first chapter! Please R&R. :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**All right, second chapter now up. Please R&R. I hope you enjoy! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Chronicles of Ancient Darkness or any of its characters. I only own my idea and writing.

**Chapter 2 **

* * *

Renn awoke as the sun made its way under the curtains. She flicked her eyes to the clock on her bedside table, two minutes before her alarm. How did that always seem to happen?

She moved her legs out from under the covers and her feet slipped into her shoes. Renn made her way to the shower and, after getting dressed, headed down to the kitchen. She grabbed a packet of porridge out of the cupboard and refilled the kettle.

Some coughing and hacking from the bedroom down the hall indicated that gran was awake. Renn finished making the porridge and let it cool for a few minutes before putting it on a tray and walking down the hall.

Once Saeunn was all set for breakfast, Renn hurried back upstairs to finish getting ready. She packed her darts as well as her books and pinned a badge to the strap of her shoulder bag. She tied up her fiery red hair in a loose bun and double-checked her appearance in the mirror. Skinny jeans, black Converse and a baggy white top seeing as the weather was warming up.

Satisfied, Renn went back to the kitchen, grabbed a slice of bread and yelled a goodbye to Fin before running out the door. The morning air was still cool as she walked across the road to Bale's house.

Renn folded the piece of bread in half and took a bite while knocking on the door with her other hand. It was Bale that answered.

"Mmhorninhg Bhle!" Renn said before swallowing, "Ughh, sorry"

"Renn, have some manners!" he joked and Renn gave a sheepish smile.

Bale, who was only in board shorts, stepped out of the house and sat down on the front porch with his legs dangling over the edge. Renn joined him and noticed a new tattoo on his right shoulder.

"You're actually just the person I wanted to see," he began.

Renn raised her eyebrows, "Oh?"

"Last night my cousin arrived"

"I know, I saw the car pull up outside your house," Renn said with a nod.

"Yeah, well. He's come to live with us," Bale continued.

"Permanently?"

"I think so, his mum died when he was a baby and he's been living with his dad up until now-"

Renn interrupted, "Was that who dropped him off last night?"

Bale winced a little, "Unfortunately no. That was child services"

He paused and Renn put a hand on his shoulder, "What is it?"

Bale took a deep breath, "His dad was murdered last week"

Renn gasped, "Bale that's terrible!"

"The police think it was a random attack. Just some kid hopped up on drugs who happened to cross paths with him one night as he walked home," Bale shook his head.

"So why did you want to see me?" Renn asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"He starts at your school today and I was wondering if you could look out for him for me. He's in your grade and, well you know"

"Know what?"

"I thought you could relate to him," Bale said hesitantly.

Renn frowned, "Why? Because both of my parents are dead too?"

"Well, yeah. Sorry," he made to get up but Renn stopped him.

"Don't worry about it, of course I'll watch out for him. What grade is he in?"

Bale smiled, "The same as you"

Renn was surprised for a moment, but didn't show it. "What's his name?"

"Torak"

"Torak," she whispered, testing the name on her lips and thinking about all of these sudden happenings.

A silence fell over them both. Renn was the first to speak.

"I see you've got a new tattoo," she commented, pointing to the blue seal curled around his shoulder.

Bale looked to where she was pointing and flexed his bicep, "Yeah, well. I wanted one to match my board"

Renn laughed and rolled her eyes, "Your such a guy"

"I should hope so!" Bale retorted while getting back up, "I'm going to go see if Torak's ready. You're going to be late if you don't leave soon"

Renn turned her head back and looked out at the road. Bale had always been more of a brother to her than Hord, watching out for her at school and even playing darts with her when Hord was out with random girls. She sometimes wondered what life would have been like if Bale's family hadn't moved to this house three years ago.

After kicking her legs for a little longer, Renn got up and dusted her pants off, preferring to wait standing up. She leaned against one of the posts and played with a fray on her bag whilst finishing her bread.

It was about five minutes before the door opened and Bale stepped back out, this time with a surfboard under his arm. Renn scanned the fiberglass object and noticed that Bale's tattoo did indeed match the design on the foam.

Renn raised an eyebrow, "If that's the brand logo, then you do realize that you're walking around with an advertisement on you shoulder?" she said sarcastically.

Bale stood the board against the wall, "Oh ha-ha, Renn. This is, in fact, one of the boards my dad made. The design is my mothers"

Renn's tone softened, "It looks good"

"Thanks," Bale replied, not looking at her.

A movement behind the door's fly screen caught Renn's eye. Bale followed her gaze. "Ahh, look who decided to show up!"

He reached back and grasped the door handle, "Renn, this is Torak"

* * *

Hehe, cliff hanger :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three! Please R&R, I hope you enjoy! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Chronicles of Ancient Darkness or any of its characters. I only own my idea and writing.

**Chapter 3**

* * *

In the doorway stood a boy who was only a few inches off the height of Bale. He had black hair that fell to his shoulders and silver grey eyes. On his right was the dog that Renn had seen the night before. It looked very wolfish.

Renn felt something strange when she looked at Torak; it was either something that she had never felt before or something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Torak, this is Renn," Bale finished introducing them.

Renn smiled, "Hey"

The boy glanced at her, "Hey"

Bale looked from one teen to the other and picked his board back up. "You guys better be off, you're gonna be late"

Torak nodded and walked past the older boy, down the porch steps and onto the side path. The dog followed him. Renn, sidestepped over to Bale.

"Heh, um. Is he taking the dog?" she inquired.

Bale looked over her shoulder as Torak walked away, "Yeah, the school's letting him because he's refusing counselling," he said with a shrug.

Renn made her way down the steps, "Right, well I'll see you later then," she called whilst running to catch up with Torak. She turned her head back in time to see Bale wave goodbye.

The boy and his dog hadn't made it far down the street before Renn caught up with them. "Hey, do you even know the way?" she asked, a little out of breath.

Torak's eyes met hers, "No, but I because this is a no-through road, I figured that this was the way to go"

Renn raised an eyebrow, "Well you're a smart one"

Torak didn't say anything.

"So what's you dog's name?" Renn asked, trying to spark a conversation.

"Wolf"

Renn turned her concentration back on the path, "Figures"

They walked for a few more minutes till the gates to Open-Forest High came into view. Torak followed Renn as she made her way to student services, trying to dodge the curious stares of passers by. Renn collected his schedule for him, not really trusting the boy to talk to the reception lady.

She skimmed the piece of paper before handing it to Torak, "We have the same classes. I can show you around if you like"

He nodded.

Renn rolled her eyes, getting tired of the attitude. She walked back out of student services towards form, Torak still trailing behind her and Wolf beside him. Renn knocked on the door and opened it to a frowning Mr. Thiazzi.

Renn winced, "Sorry sir," she apologised.

The towering man nodded and Renn, along with Torak, sat down at the back of the room. Aki, who was in the front row, turned his head and winked at Renn as they walked past. She simply glared back till he looked away.

"And who might this be?" asked Mr. Thiazzi, jutting his head in Torak's direction.

"Oh, this is Torak, sir. He just arrived today," Renn introduced him.

Mr. Thiazzi frowned and gave Torak a hard stare, "Well I should hope he doesn't make a habit of being late"

Renn stood back up, "Sir! It's his fist day!"

The man turned his stare on Renn, "I suggest you sit back down miss Kedinn, before I send you up to front office"

Wolf gave a quiet snarl and Torak's head twitched.

"What?" Renn whispered.

Torak shook his head, "Nothing"

* * *

The day pasted without much incident, though teachers in every class wanted to see Torak's note for having a dog in the school and passing students offered continuous stares. Renn had darts practice at lunch, Torak simply watched, not saying anything.

Renn thought it all went reasonably well for Torak's first day and she tried to help whenever she could.

It was on their walk home that things started going wrong. Torak was a fast walker and Renn, with her shorter legs, was almost at a jog to keep up with him. As they stoped to wait for traffic, Renn took the chance to try and get Torak to talk.

She glanced at him, "What was that in form today? With your dog?"

Torak didn't answer till they crossed the street, "Wolf was telling me something," he stated.

"You can talk to him?" Renn stopped in her tracks and had to run to catch up as Torak continued walking.

"Yes"

Renn decided to let the boy have his weirdness, "So what did he say?"

"The form teacher, Mr. Thiazzi. Wolf said he smelt strange," Torak informed her.

"Well don't all new people smell different?"

Torak stared through her, "I said strange not different"

Renn had finally had enough, "Ughh! What is your problem!"

The young man stopped dead and turned to face her, blocking the way. Renn felt scared for a moment.

Torak looked right at her, "Oh I don't know what my problem is, Renn. Maybe it's the fact that on my first day all I've had is some girl, who lives in a nice two story house, follow me around and try to help me because it's so obvious that her life is way better than mine!"

Renn slapped him across the face.

He looked quite stunned for a moment.

Renn pointed a finger at him, "You know, the only reason I live in that 'nice two story house' is because that's what I got when my parents died in a car accident four years ago! And there is no way that my life is better than yours, you have two loving cousins, a wonderful uncle and your loyal dog, where as I've got a brother who hardly cares about me, some half-deranged old lady who never stops nagging at me and a reasonable uncle, I don't' even have a pet" she took a breath, "So far the numbers are in your advantage"

For the first time Torak really seemed to look at her, "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't know"

"Well you wouldn't would you? Not once today did you ask me," she turned her accusing finger and jabbed it into her chest, "about me! All day it was just your scowling and that stupid adorable dog of yours sitting beside you"

Wolf wagged his tail a little and Torak took as step towards her, "Renn-"

"No!" she pushed passed him and ran back home, hating every bit of the handsome boy.

* * *

**Hmm, a bit of trouble?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews! They always encourage me to keep writing! Here is chapter 4. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Chronicles of Ancient Darkness or any of its characters; I only own my ideas and writing.

**Chapter 4 **

* * *

Renn angrily chucked another dart.

It missed.

Again.

She sighed and sat down in one of the outdoor chairs. Renn tilted her head back and looked up, the sun was starting to set and the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink. If she tilted her head even further away from where the sun was sinking, Renn could see the first flickering stars peeking through the clouds.

She looked back at her dartboard; all three of her darts were stuck in the wooden chipboard doors. This never ever happened. It was annoying.

There was a knock on the glass to her right, Renn turned to see Fin at the window, and he was gesturing for her to come inside.

Renn gave another sigh as she got up and walked in to see what Fin could want. He was in the kitchen.

"Yes?" Renn asked while getting herself a drink of water.

"Bale's at the door," Fin stated.

Renn made a questioning "Mmmhmm?" noise as she sipped her water.

Fin crossed his arms, "He wants to see you"

Renn groaned and slumped her shoulders.

"I think you should see him," Fin said. Though it sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

Renn slammed her glass onto the bench with just enough care not to break it. Fin didn't even flinch. She walked through the house to the front door and peered past the fly screen to see Bale standing on the porch in his board shorts. Renn stepped outside.

"Still in your board shorts?"

"I just got changed into them," Bale replied, turning to face her.

"You're going to the beach at this time of day?"

"Yep, and you're coming with me" He said with a trademark mischievous grin.

Renn shook her head, "No I'm not"

"I already asked Fin"

"And?"

Bale shrugged, "He thinks it's a good idea and he wants to have a talk with Hord anyway"

Renn gave Bale the best death stare that she could muster, "Fine. I'll get changed"

Bale simply smiled again as she slammed the door and ran upstairs. Renn dug through her draws till she found her black bikini, got changed with her shirt and a pair of shorts over the top of the swimwear, grabbed a beach bag and towel and ran back downstairs.

She slipped on her flip-flops that were by the doormat and strode ahead of Bale down the street. Renn could almost feel him rolling his eyes as he jogged to catch up with her. At the end of the street, where the road stopped and the bushy scrub began, there was a well-worn path. Renn had walked down it many times in the past four years, during all seasons, not just the summer.

It was about 5 minutes till her feet met with the whitish sand of the beach, Renn looked up. It wasn't windy, which was nice because it made the water glassy and smooth. The pinky sky reflected on the water making the whole scene look very soft and romantic. And, as much as she hated to admit it, Renn kind of wished that she had someone to share it with, well besides Bale.

A few snapping twigs sounded the arrival of the young man, "Beautiful isn't it?" he said.

Renn shrugged, not turning to look at him, "Yeah, but beauty won't fix my problems"

Bale came to stand beside her, "No, but it might help a little"

Renn looked down at her sand covered feet and Bale ran further towards the water calling after her. She hoisted her beach bag higher up on her shoulder and ran after the blonde haired boy.

By the time Renn reached his towel, Bale was already in the water, swimming playfully like a seal. Renn took off her shirt and shorts, stuffing them into her bag and dropped her towel next to Bale's. She then readjusted the bikini strap on her left hip and walked down to the water.

The salty water was cold, but not un-pleasantly so. Renn waded out to where Bale was and lifted her legs up, so that she was floating on her back. She let the ocean sooth her mind and wash over her skin, it was a while before Bale swam over and started to talk.

"You know Renn, Torak told me about your fight today"

Renn flicked her eyes to Bale's face, "I'd guessed that, are you going to make me apologize?"

Bale made a sheepish expression, "Well I was hoping for that eventually, but first I wanted to ask you something"

Renn, now quite interested, stood back up in the water and turned her full attention to Bale, "What?"

Bale stood up also, "Well, when Torak described your fight, it sounded as if you were venting. It's not like you to do that and it wasn't right for you to use Torak as means of getting your anger out"

Renn frowned, "It's not like I did it on purpose, Bale!" she shrugged, "It just sort of happened"

"Right, well, I just wanted to know if you're ok"

"I'm fine Bale," the older boy raised an eyebrow, "No really, I'm fine. It's just that all day today Torak sort of shut me out when I was only trying to help him"

"Give him a bit of slack, Renn. Both of his parents are dead now," Bale started towards the shore.

Renn swam after him, "Well so are mine"

"Yes, but you've had four years to adjust, it's only been a week since Torak's dad died"

Renn grumbled an "I suppose so," and got out of the water with Bale.

"You see how the beach makes everything better?" Bale asked as he grabbed his towel.

Renn scoffed as she wrapped her own towel around herself, "It was not the beach. It was just the calming water and some tricky reasoning from a boy across the road"

Bale faked a hurt expression, "Is that really all I am to you?"

Renn laughed and gave him a shove, "Of course not, Bale"

The journey back seemed longer as Renn's dread of the awkward apology grew. Renn put her bag on a chair when they reached the porch of Bale's house and waited while he fetched Torak.

When they finally stepped out of the house, Bale didn't say anything and neither did Torak. Renn stepped forward and noticed Torak look her up and down, with that she remembered that she was only wearing her bikini and a small towel. She tried in vain to wrap it further around herself.

_Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn,_ said the voice in her head over and over. But Renn simply tucked a stray wet lock behind her right ear and faced Torak.

"I'm sorry for earlier," she started.

Torak smiled the first smile Renn had seen him give, "It's ok. We were both at fault"

There was a silence and Bale stepped in, "See, not that hard. Renn are you going to come by tomorrow to walk with Torak to school?"

Renn shrugged, "Yeah"

"Great, well you get off home before you freeze to death and we'll see you in the morning"

Renn nodded and picked her bag back up, "Bye then," she said while walking back down the stairs.

She could feel Torak's eyes linger on her as he replied with a quiet farewell.

* * *

**Next chapter up soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ahh, I apologize for the long break but things get busy over here during this time of the year. Anywho, here is chapter 5! **

Disclaimer: I don't own Chronicles of Ancient Darkness or any of its characters. I own my idea and writing.

**Chapter 5 **

* * *

**Renn P.O.V**

Torak gripped Renn's upper arm and steadied her as she stumbled over a crack in the pavement. They stood like this for a moment until Torak jerked his hand away as if it had been burned.

"Thanks," Renn said, looking down slightly.

"You're welcome."

It had been a week since their fight and Torak's attitude had improved greatly. He was still reserved around other people, but he seemed to like Renn. Each day they talked more and Torak was beginning to start some of the conversations now rather than it always being the other way around.

As they walked through the school gates, such a beginning occurred. Torak asked Renn what the badge on her bag strap was for. It was a raven grasping a branch under its feet, as if it were perched.

"Oh, this is my house badge," Renn replied with a glance to the round object, "Raven house of Open-Forest-High."

"What house am I in?" asked Torak.

Renn smiled, "Well we're in the same form so we're in the same house. Didn't they have that at your old school?"

"My dad homeschooled me," Torak placed his hand on Wolf's back as he did whenever the subject of his father came up. Wolf responded with a wag of his tail.

Renn always noted how well trained Wolf was, he never barked, whined or so much as made a sound during school. Save for the occasional growl, he only wagged his tail or twisted his furry head in response to anything. Sometimes Renn was jealous that she didn't have such a pet.

Luckily subject of Torak's ability to talk to his dog hadn't yet come up again, to Renn's relief, for she still didn't believe him.

"Well then, at recess we shall go and get you your first house badge!" Renn said to change the subject.

Torak gave her a rare smile.

And at recess they did just as Renn had said. While Torak was pinning the badge to his shirt Aki walked passed and gave Renn a good stare. She turned her back to him fully facing Torak now. Torak raised and eyebrow but Renn refused to comment on the subject.

* * *

**Torak P.O.V **

The rest of the day went quite quickly, Renn had darts practice at lunch and Torak had a try. He was good, though (with a slight blow to his pride) not as good as Renn.

During English Torak listened carefully as Renn explained the upcoming school and interschool sports competitions. First the Open-Forest-High houses (raven, boar, willow and otter) would compete against each other. The winner of this would then go on to verse the winning houses of Ocean-Islands-School (where Bale used to go before they moved after his mother's death), Deep-Forest-High and Snowy-Mountains-School.

From the way she talked about it, Torak gathered that Renn was very into all of this sports stuff. She described who had been the winners of past years and which schools were strongest at which sports. Over all Open-Forest were strongest at throws, like darts, shot put, discus, javelin or archery. While Deep-Forest were good at sprints, high jump and long jump. Snowy-Mountain were known for cross-country and Ocean-Islands for swimming.

When Renn asked him what he would enter, Torak said he would probably do the 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints as he had always been quite good at that sort of thing. When Torak asked Renn if she would be entering anything besides darts she laughed quietly and shook her head.

Torak found that he quite liked her laugh.

* * *

As they walked out of the school gates at the end of the day Torak gave a sigh of relief, which he did almost every school day. Renn had picked up on this.

"You know," she said, "I understand that you're glad to be out of school at the end of the day, I am too, but I don't understand why you're always _so_ relieved."

"I just find this type of school a difficult thing I guess," Torak shrugged and hoped to have ended the conversation.

Renn didn't take the hint. "Because you were home schooled?"

Torak shook his head, dark hair moving around his face. "No, no. It's not that. Listen can we talk about it some other time?"

"Uhh, sure, I suppose." Renn looked a little taken aback.

They walked on in silence for a while; Wolf had found a stick that Torak was now throwing for him. At one point the handsome dog brought the stick back to Renn instead of Torak, which surprised them both.

"He likes you," Torak stated.

Renn smiled as she threw the wooden projectile.

Once they were at the driveway to Bale's house, Renn turned to leave and go home when Torak reached a hand out to stop her. She looked over her shoulder at him with a curious stare.

"Renn, I was wondering…." he began but trailed off.

"Yes?" she queried, turning around to face him.

Torak glanced at his watch, "Do you want to go for a swim?" he quickly improvised.

Renn opened her mouth to reply but Torak interrupted, "I mean it's only four and it's still quite warm. I still haven't been to the beach yet."

"You mean Bale hasn't managed to drag you there?"

Torak smiled, "Well no, not yet."

Renn switched her bad from one shoulder to the other, "I would love to go for a swim, I'll go get changed and meet you back here in about fifteen."

"Sounds good," Torak replied and Renn jogged across the street.

He had been going to ask her what the whole thing with her and Aki was about, but then decided not to because he didn't know how she would take it. Torak was a very observant person and after just a few days of knowing Renn he knew to be weary of her moods. It wasn't that she had mood swings as such, but she just seemed to be touchy about some subjects.

Torak went inside and said a quick, quiet hello to everyone and told Bale's dad where he was going. He then got change into some borrowed board shorts from Bale, as he had yet to buy his own, and ate a piece of toast. He checked his watch; it had been 17 minutes, which was odd because Torak knew Renn to be quite precise and practical with everything she did. She was never late to his house in the morning to walk to school.

Torak got up, walked over to Renn's house and knocked on the door. A tall man with red hair answered.

"Good afternoon Mr. Kedinn," Torak said, "Is Renn ready yet?"

The large figure stepped out of the doorway and stood in front of Torak on the porch. He seemed a lot more imposing here than he did at school darts practice.

"She'll be down in a minute," came the gruff reply.

Torak nodded and tried to stand a little taller; he was only about three inches off Mr. Kedinn's height. He liked Renn's uncle, the red headed man reminded Torak a little of his father. Rough, but kind, loving and protective at the same time. In fact it was only because of Mr. Kedinn's extreme protectiveness over Renn that Torak found him slightly scary.

Though Torak respected this; after all this man was Renn's only uncle and sole guardian because her brother still hadn't turned 20.

The rough voice spoke again, "I'm glad that you and Renn are getting along. After Bale finished school Renn didn't have anyone there that she was close too. I expect that you'll be a good friend to her and watch out for her."

Torak understood that this was a statement that required a response from him, so he quickly did so with a "Yes sir."

Fin-Kedinn nodded and turned to open the door as they both heard Renn running down the stairs. When the young woman stepped out onto the porch, Torak's eyes wandered over to her, not noticing the look Mr. Kedinn gave him. He saw that while she was still wearing her bikini top, she had kept her short boardies on this time. _A suggestion from her uncle no doubt, _thought Torak.

Renn glanced from her uncle to Torak and back again as if she had been wondering what they were talking about. She didn't ask though and said instead, "Sorry I took so long, someone messed up my room and I couldn't find my bathers."

With that she gave an almost pleading look to her uncle that no one would have picked up on unless they were as observant as Torak or knew Renn as well as her uncle did. Mr. Kedinn responded with a nod. Torak didn't really understand what was going on, but he held back the questions on his tongue.

Renn didn't elaborate. She slipped on her thongs and said, "Right, lets go"

Wolf gave an excited bark; he didn't get to go to the beach very often and had been quite pleased when Torak told him where they were going.

**

* * *

**

We will be visiting the beach in the next chapter. Before you review please let me explain a few things:

**1. I know I only mentioned 4 open-forest clans for houses at Open-Forest-High. It would've been weird if the school had as many houses as there are open-forest clans. **

**2. I know that in America you get adult privileges at 21, here it is 18 and because the story is set in no particular country I made it 20 for this setting. This is the same reason why I use a mix of measurements such as 'meters' as well as 'inches' **

**3. **'**Boardies' is another term for board shorts.**

**4. **'**Thongs' are another term for flip-flops.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you guys for being such awesome readers, it's really good to know what I'm doing right. But I'm also open to any suggestions you might have.**

Disclaimer: I honestly wish I owned CoAD, but I don't. I only own my idea and writing.

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**Torak P.O.V **

The cool salty water felt like a slap in the face as Torak dove under a small wave. He swam a few strokes before breaking to the surface for air. His feet still touched the bottom, but the water was up to his chest. When Renn joined him, the water was up to her neck.

Though this didn't worry either of them for they were both good swimmers. Renn had lived near the ocean her whole life, even before her parents died, and while Torak hadn't been to the beach much before, he had done plenty of swimming lessons at the local pool back home. _No, _he thought to himself,_ this is home now._

Somehow, Renn had managed to get all the way out without getting the hair on top of her head wet. It was wet from about her earlobes downwards and had turned a brownish colour, but up from there it was still the same deep, fiery red. This was annoying to Torak, for he had gotten completely soaked.

On an impulse he scooped his hands together under the water and bought them to the surface with a quick motion. The result was a now completely wet and surprised Renn. She didn't get angry however, but imitated his motion and Torak had to blink the salt out of his eyes as the water hit him.

Renn laughed and at the sound Torak felt a strange twinge inside of him, though he had little time to ponder it as Wolf gave a curious bark from the beach. Torak turned to see him running up and down the wet sand where the waves were moving to and fro. While Wolf liked the beach, he didn't particularly like to swim, being more than content to run along the stretch of white sand and not letting the water come up further than his chest.

It wasn't long before both Torak and Renn had tired of their game and decided to swim back to shore. They dried themselves and then lay down on their towels, not quite ready to head home yet.

Torak couldn't help but stare at Renn; she was probably one of the most beautiful girls he had ever met and defiantly the most beautiful one that had ever befriended him. While his father's death still weighed on his chest like a stone, Torak was happy that he had met Renn and he was glad that he was able to live with Bale instead of going into the foster system.

Wolf trotted over just as Torak rolled onto his side so that he was facing Renn, he was wet from his paws to his chest. Torak cringed at the fact he would have to bath him before he would be aloud inside the house.

Renn reached out her hand and Wolf gave it a sniff, then a lick and Renn pulled away with a quiet giggle. At the noise Torak looked up at her and couldn't help but follow a drop of water as it made its way from her wet hair, down her neck to the hollow of her throat and down…

He cleared his throat, "Erhum. So, Renn what's with you and Aki?"

Renn's eyes drifted tiredly from Wolf to Torak's face, she moved from being on her back, resting on her elbows to on her side, just as Torak was. She took a slow deep breath, which did not help Torak in his concentration, and began. "Well, it all started last year when he asked me out and I said no. For a whole week he pestered me about it, asking and asking and asking. But I always refused. Eventually he gave up and now he just stares and winks at me rudely. I try to ignore it, but I can't help but feel horrible when he stares at me like that. It's just a bad feeling you know?"

Torak nodded and decided that next time Aki did such a thing he would have a word with him. Though he didn't tell Renn this. "So, why didn't you go out with him? Did you already have a boyfriend?"

He felt bad asking such a selfish question, but Renn didn't seem to notice, she merely raised an eyebrow at him. "I said no because I didn't like him. I know how he treats girls and I didn't want to be apart of that. He reminds me of my brother actually."

"In the way he treats girls?"

"Yeah." She didn't say anything more about the subject.

For a while they just lay there on their towels. Renn staring past Torak and Torak attempting to do the same, though his eyes kept ending up where they shouldn't have been. But to be fare, when she thought he wasn't looking, Renn gave Torak a good look up and down once or twice. They were 16 year old teenagers after all.

After a time Renn spoke again, "So now that I've given up some information I think it's your turn."

"Ask away." Replied Torak with a wave of his hand and a smirk on his face.

Renn flicked some sand onto his chest with a smile and repeated the question she had uttered that earlier, about why he was always so relieved to be out of school. Torak's face fell for a moment as he cringed inside, but he quickly hid it and answered her strait up.

"Well, when my dad was killed-," he broke off for a moment and took a breath, "-it was the police who came to tell me. They sat me down and told me how my fathers murderer was only a kid." He spat the last part of the sentence.

Renn reached over and Torak shivered as her hand grasped his shoulder, "It's ok, Bale told me. The kid was high and didn't really know what he was doing."

"Yeah, but I bet he didn't tell you what school that kid came from." Torak said quietly.

The hand on Torak's shoulder clenched, "No…" Renn whispered.

He nodded, "Yes. Open-Forest high."

"But how could they do that to you!" Renn had removed her hand and was now sitting up.

"It was either stay with Bale, a family I knew, and go to Open-Forest or go into the foster system. Which would you have chosen?" Torak didn't mean to sound challenging, he knew Renn was trying to be as helpful as she could, but the words just came out.

Under her frown, Renn's eyes bored into his. "I don't know." She replied quietly. "What was his name?" she asked after a moment.

"Tenris"

Renn nodded, "I think I knew him, he was in my brother's grade. He came over once, but only once."

Torak didn't say anything but sat up and Renn touched his hand, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Torak asked, somewhat confused and trying to hide the burning feeling of tears behind his eyes.

The red haired girl threw her arms wide, making Torak jerk back, "For what you have to go through every school day when you walk through those-," she pointed in the rough direction of their school, "-gates and for the fact that I always act so happy at school, it's like I've been mocking you without knowing."

Torak looked down, "No, it's not like that. Your happiness and persistency and organization are sometimes what keep me going."

Renn used her hand to lift his chin up so that he had to face her, "How?"

He stood up and broke the contact, "It doesn't matter." He said while picking up his things and walking back towards the path. Torak whistled to Wolf and the dog ran up to walk beside him. After a few seconds he heard Renn running up behind him. She grabbed his left arm and yanked him around, her strength surprised Torak.

"No Torak. It does matter!" she said to him, almost at a yell, "It matters to me!"

It was times like this that Torak remembered that he had only known Renn for little over a week. He didn't understand why it would be so important. Though, in a way he did understand and it was just that he was reluctant to admit the reason.

Renn's fingernails digging into the skin of his upper arm prompted him to reply, "Fine! It's because you lost your parents too." He let the statement sink in for a moment before going on, "And I admire how well you cope with that fact, I admire how you are still so organized and can be happy. I wonder how I could ever be happy and function as well as you do, knowing that the two people who made me are gone forever!"

Renn didn't let go of her grip, if anything Torak thought she tightened it. "But how does that '_keep you going'_?" She asked, using his own words.

Torak hung his head, "It keeps me going because I hope that someday and somehow, I'll be able to get on like you do."

She let go of his arm; "I don't say this lightly Torak. But you're already doing better than I was. It's been what, two and a bit weeks since your dad died? Well around the same time after my parents died, I was still refusing to leave my uncle's house, in fact I hardly ever left my own room."

She ran a hand through her hair, "It was a whole six weeks before I even tried going to my new school."

Torak reached over and took her towel, so that she didn't have to carry anything. "It doesn't matter how long it took you to get where you are. I still hope that I can get there eventually, only time will tell if I get there quicker than you or not."

Renn's expression softened, but she took her towel back off him in a show of independence. "Well it's almost 5:30, I guess we should get back before my uncle calls the police or something."

Torak laughed and started along the path ahead of her because it was so thin and you could only walk single file. They ventured though the scrub and sparse trees, eventually coming out on the tar that marked the end of their street. They went to Renn's house first. After she took off her shoes by the door, Renn turned to Torak with an odd expression on her face. "So, do you want to come in for a drink?"

The invitation took him by surprise, "Uh, sure."

"I don't think Wolf can come in though, being as wet as he is." She said in an apologetic voice.

Torak had expected as much, he knew Wolf wouldn't mind. "It's fine." He told her and took off his own shoes, placing his towel beside them. Torak told Wolf to stay on the porch, Wolf replied with a wine that Torak knew to be an impatient one.

Just as they walked in the door Renn's brother Hord ran down the stairs and stumbled past them to get outside. Torak watched as he jogged down the steps and got into his car, squealing the tires as he drove away. The older boy hadn't even said goodbye to Renn or uttered a hello to Torak.

Renn didn't take any notice of the situation and instead led Torak to the kitchen. It was as if she was used to it. She got them both a glass of cool water and they sat out the back, for they were still in their salty bathers. They didn't say anything, each party was thinking about all that had been said at the beach and as soon as he finished his drink Torak excused himself saying that he needed to bath Wolf before it got too dark.

Renn nodded and thanked him for the lovely time at the beach. Torak mumbled that it was nothing and made his way back to the front porch. When he got there Wolf was in a strange state. Torak hurriedly asked him what was wrong and Wolf made a series of movements and sounds that Torak subconsciously translated into, "_Furless male smelt like first pack leader._"

Torak knew that 'first pack leader' meant Mr. Thiazzi as he was the first teacher of the day. But this wasn't what caused Torak's blood to turn cold, what turned it cold was the fact that 'furless male' would have been the last male Wolf had smelt before Torak had come back.

Hord had the same strange smell about him that Mr. Thiazzi always had.

* * *

**Renn: You know, I think I sound a little OOC. **

**Torak: Yeah, me too. **

**Me: Ughh, guys leave me alone. I haven't read CoAD in like 8 months okay? Gosh, be thankful I haven't got you making out yet. **

**Torak: *****Blushes*******

**Renn: That wouldn't be so bad. **

**Me: o_o (Please R&R).**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, it's been so long since I updated this story. I'm so sorry about that. But I tend to move fandoms all the time and I'm getting back into CoAD lately since I've started re-reading the series. So here is chapter 7, I hope you enjoy it. I've already written the next chapter so you won't have to wait long for it. :) **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series or its characters. They belong to Michelle Paver and her publishers. I just own my stories.

* * *

It had been a whole month and Torak still hadn't told Renn about the incident with Hord, and he was starting to feel guilty. But did it really mean anything? So what if he and Mr. Thiazzi had smelt the same, all that meant was that they'd been in contact. Maybe they'd gotten together to discuss old times from when Hord was at school.

Somehow Torak doubted that theory. A short 'Uff' from Wolf brought him out of his thoughts. He shook his head. Concentrate, he told himself. He dug his fingers into the grass beneath him and glanced a look at his faithful companion sitting patiently at the sidelines of the track. Torak gave him a quick dog-smile before turning his gaze to the white painted lines in front of him.

A whistle blew.

Torak lifted his knees from the ground and settled into his starting position. He was barely aware of the seven other boys lined up on his sides as he waited for the gun to sound. Time seemed to slow, sound dulled as if Torak was wearing earplugs and his mind cleared.

Bang!

His muscles seemed to move on their own accord as Torak leaped from the starting line and into the race. Within the first 75 meters of the 200-meter sprint he was in an ever-growing lead. Torak pumped his arms and forced himself to keep a steady pace till the last few seconds. He'd slipped into another world where he could feel every bump in the grassy track, where he could feel the blood pumping in his ears like the ocean and where he was running with such ease, it was as if he were just walking to school with Renn.

In the last few seconds of the race, he forced his body into a sprint and felt the rush of adrenalin as he crossed the finish line several seconds before anyone else. Torak doubled over and took in several deep breaths to steady his heartbeat. With a quick glance to his left, he saw Renn at the other end of the oval looking at him. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but he thought he saw a smile tugging at her lips. She'd turned her head back to the outdoor darts board before he could decide.

For some reason, the fact that Renn had been watching gave him more pleasure than the fact he won by such a margin. Someone came up next to him, Torak stood up to full height and his eyes were level with that of the coach's.

"Good run, son." The man said gruffly, as if annoyed that Torak had won.

"Thank you, sir." He said neutrally. He knew why the coach was annoyed. Teachers were in houses as well as students; the sprints coach was from Otter house not Raven like Torak.

Practice for the other sprints went much the same throughout the evening, Torak won every one he entered; 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter. By the end of the session the sun was setting and he was exhausted. He went back to the boys change rooms to get his bag and used his towel to wipe the sweat from his face and limbs. He'd shower at home. Torak would never shower in public places, not since Renn told him practically all of the foot diseases and such that you could catch.

Double-checking that he hadn't forgotten anything, he slowly made his way out of the building and to where Renn was still practicing on the oval. Wolf trailed behind him and Torak felt as if his limbs were dead. He waited till Renn had finished her set of throws before calling her name. She came over to him, untying and retying her red bundle of hair as she walked. Torak refrained from smiling; her hair was something that he loved about Renn. The way that it always had that 'just got out of bed' look that was so…well…sexy. And the colour! When the light was dim, it was almost black, but in the sun it looked as if she was on fire. He just wanted to run his hands through it.

Torak cleared his throat. "Where's your uncle today?" He covered.

"Sick." Renn replied, one hand on her hip, the other lifting a water bottle to her lips.

"Oh. Well I'm finished for the day." He told her. "Are you ready?" Normally they would walk home together, even after athletics practice.

"I'm staying for an extra half-hour today, I told Fin that I'd try and teach some of the younger kids better technique." Renn told him, taking another sip from her bottle. Torak's shoulders sagged. Half an hour? He would fall asleep before she'd finished. But it was getting dark and he didn't want Renn walking home on her own. She must have picked up on his exhaustion though.

"You don't have to wait Torak. I'll be fine." She gave him a tired smile. Clearly she wasn't too excited about looking after the kids from the lower grades.

Torak felt torn, he was so tired, but he'd told Fin that he'd watch out for Renn all those weeks ago. What if something happened? He thought back to last week, when the same situation had come up after practice, and Renn had walked home just fine. But this felt different. Torak had a bad feeling. "I'm not sure if I sh-"

"Torak, you're barely standing. Go home. Sleep. I'm fine on my own, honestly it's a five minute walk." She cut him off and pinched her nose, closing her eyes. "Between you and Fin I must be the most babysat sixteen year old in the school."

His thoughts raced. She was right, it was only a five minute walk and Renn was pretty capable of looking after herself. She had her phone with her anyway. Wolf gave a whine.

"He's hungry." Renn said. She'd come to understand quite a lot of what Wolf's talk in the months since he'd known her. Not like he could. But she seemed to know that this whine meant 'hungry', or that bark meant 'get away' and this bark was 'hello'.

"Yeah, I should get him home." Torak agreed. Renn gave him another smile and told him she'd see him tomorrow morning. He adjusted his school bag and turned to walk away when Wolf gave a low growl. Torak stopped dead, it was so unlike his dog to growl like that, that when he did it took him by surprise. Torak gave a whine and tilted his head. _What's wrong_?

Wolf wouldn't tell him, or rather Torak could make out what his dog was trying to tell him. A minute or so passed and he decided that whatever it was, it could wait till they got home. He walked on, whistling for Wolf to follow.

* * *

Renn packed the last of the dartboards into the sports shed and closed the door. Other areas were still packing up their stations, so she didn't bother locking it. She checked her watch, 6:15 flashed into her eyes from the digital face. Past sunset, she mused and grabbed her bag out of the change rooms, starting her walk home.

Renn set a fast pace over brightly lit school oval till she made it to the streetlights. She crossed the road quickly and kept to the paths. She wasn't paranoid; she was just using common sense.

She was halfway home when she had to cut through an alleyway to get to the street that connected to hers. She and Torak used it almost every day when they walked to and from school, it cut about a minute or so off the trip. Renn followed the path as it sliced between the houses. It got darker, the further away she moved from the streetlights, and she wondered for a moment if she should have taken the longer rout. There were always stories going around on the news and at school, white vans, kids being abducted and all of that.

On instinct Renn took her phone out of her back pocket and held it in her hand as she walked. She told herself that she was being silly, but she didn't put the phone away. She'd reached the halfway mark, where it was darkest, when she heard footsteps. She stopped. So did the footsteps.

Renn almost laughed out loud. It was just an echo. She shook her head and nearly walked into the tall figure that had stepped out of the shadows.

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**Please R&R.  
I feel that my writing style has changed a little since I first started this story. You may or may not pick up on it. I'm not exactly sure of it myself. If it has changed and you don't like it then tell me and I'll work on it. But if I've improved then that's great. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, next chapter up! Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are brilliant. :) **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Chronicles of Ancient Darkenss, they belong to Michelle Paver and Orion. I own my writing.

* * *

Renn jerked back, heart thumping wildly in her chest.

"Hello, Renn." A deep voice said. She recognized that voice. She peered through the dark and saw the outline of the man's face.

"Aki?" She whispered quietly. He moved closer in response to his name and Renn sidestepped, trying to move around him.

"Did I scare you?" He asked, his tone mocking innocence.

"No." Renn lied. Her phone felt heavy in her hand, but her fingers were frozen. She kept moving, hoping that Aki was just playing some stupid joke. He saw what she was doing and quickly blocked the way. Renn forced her breathing to slow and tried to keep calm.

"We need to talk, Renn." He told her.

"We can talk at school, Aki. I have to get home." Renn was glad that her voice remained steady. She pushed past the tall boy, intending to make a run for it when she got behind him. Aki grabbed her arm. Renn tried to pull away, but his grip was strong. She realized it probably would have been futile to run anyway, Aki was the second fasted sprinter in her grade. Second only to Torak.

Torak.

If only he was with her. But no, she'd told him to go home, even when he was willing to stay. She had been showing her independence again. She hated relying on others, she was so used to being by herself that she was still adjusting to having Torak as a best friend. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, she thought.

Aki's grip tightened, breaking through her thoughts. She pulled again. Nothing. Aki's face had taken on a strange look. "Aki! Let go!" Renn said as firmly as she could and cringed at the wobble in her voice.

"No!" He hissed. Renn shrank back from his tone. He pushed her roughly up against the fence that lined the ally. Renn grunted as the bolts jutting out from the fence stabbed into her back. Not breaking the skin, but defiantly bruising. _More bruises_, she thought numbly, trying to flex her arm under Aki's hold. Her mind seemed to stop working, all she could think of was 'Get away, get away, get away! Before he-'.

"What's this about, Aki?" Renn tried to keep him talking while she used her phone to call…her phone…it wasn't in her hand. She remembered too late that she'd dropped it in surprise as soon as Aki had grabbed her arm. She could yell, but what would Aki do then? The situation was too unpredictable. For the moment she wasn't in too much pain or danger, so she decided that talk was the best option.

Aki had grabbed her other arm now, keeping her firmly against the fence. "You humiliated me, in front of all my friends! They think I'm a joke!"

"Well what do you expect when you ask me out in front of them all?" Renn knew it was the wrong thing to say, but she wasn't going to let Aki think that she'd done anything wrong. He snarled, pulled her forwards and slammed her back. Renn let out a strangled cry and kicked Aki in the shins. His grip lessened but he didn't let go.

"A girl has never said _no_ to me." He spat.

Renn knew the situation had turned. She kicked him again, higher this time and Aki doubled over in pain. "Ughh."

She took her chance and sprinted, not caring about her bag or phone lying on the path. Too late, she realized it would have been better to jump a fence because it was only a second before Aki had caught up with her. He grabbed her roughly and turned her so that she had to face him. Renn squirmed. "I'm sorry, Aki." She said. "I'm sorry!"

"It's too late for that." He said and licked his lips. "I'm going to get what should have been mine months ago."

In a heartbeat Renn understood what he meant. She shook her head and tried to shove him away. As her hands connected with his chest, everything seemed to slow. She heard the click of claws on cement, shouts in the distance and saw the little flames in Aki's dark eyes. She let out a scream before his fist connected with her face.

* * *

Torak opened the front door quietly, not really feeling like saying hello to everyone. His uncle was sitting in the lounge, reading. He gave Torak a nod as the teen walked past and into the hall. Torak opened his bedroom door and made for the connected bathroom. After a thought, he swerved and filled his dog's food bowl. Wolf slumped down on his large dog bed and let out a 'huff', the food left untouched. Torak shrugged it off, going back to the bathroom; in a moment he had stripped and was in the shower, letting the hot water soothe his overworked muscles.

He didn't bother with dinner and simply changed into clean boxers, crawling into bed and pulling up the covers to his waist. He looked at the digital clock on his table. It read 5:45. He groaned, knowing that it meant he would be getting up sometime in the night completely awake because he'd gone to bed so early. Renn would still be at school for another half hour or so. Everyone else would leave at six, but heads of stations had to pack up the equipment. Even as he slipped into sleep, Torak knew he should have stayed to help.

Torak's rest was short as he was woken up by loud barking. He jumped out of bed to see Wolf in a state of panic. '_Danger, danger'_ he kept saying. Torak tried to shush him, knowing that his uncle wasn't all that fond of his pet. But Wolf wasn't listening; he had turned to clawing at the door. Torak forced his tired body into action. He pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt, slipping it on as he followed Wolf down the hallway. Wolf stood at the front door, still barking. Torak cringed and opened the door, hoping that Wolf just had to go to the toilet or something.

He didn't.

As soon as the gap was big enough for his body, Wolf pushed past. "Hey!" Torak said, not bothering to speak in a way Wolf would understand. It wouldn't have mattered anyway; Wolf was halfway up the street. Torak gave a shout over his shoulder to Bale, praying that he was in the house, and ran after Wolf.

"Wolf!" His legs burned as he sprinted, following the grayish blur that appeared under a streetlight every now and again. Torak realized that they were running towards school. _But why would-_

It dropped like a stone in his stomach and his sense of dread grew.

Renn.

Then he heard what Wolf would have long before he did. A scream that could only have been hers. He ran into the alleyway where he'd lost sight of Wolf and nearly tripped over a large bundle on the ground. In a weak ray of light Torak saw a flash of red hair.

He stopped and ran back, kneeling down and grabbing Renn by her shoulders. She jerked away and in a second he took in her image, bruised wrists, a cut above her left eye, in fact the whole left side of her face was turning purple before him. Torak's blood boiled. He only had two friends in this world, his dog and the girl curled up in front of him. No one could hurt either of them. "Renn, it's me, Torak." He said a little too loudly.

It was like a haze had cleared from her eyes and Renn had seen him for the first time. She mumbled what he thought was his name and he saw a few tears slip from her dark eyes. He pulled her into his arms and she clung to him like he was life itself.

Torak heard Bale's fast footsteps and not a second later the blonde haired boy was standing over them. In a flash, Torak saw that his quick mind had understood what happened. Bale knelt down and in a voice that was utterly calm he asked Renn, "Who?"

Renn didn't say anything but Torak felt her sob into his chest, he tightened his hold on her frame. Bale came closer and a firm edge crept into his voice, "Renn. Who did this?"

There was a pause and there was an odd nibbling sensation on Torak's skin as Renn mumbled something. "I can't hear you." Bale said.

"Aki." She repeated. Torak was too surprised to speak. He knew what had happened between Renn and Aki, but he'd never thought that…

"Okay." Bale cut through his thoughts. "Torak, you take Renn home. Tell Fin to take her to the hospital. I'm going to call the police."

Torak nodded and just as he was about to stand up, Wolf came running back up the path, tail high. _He must have chased him off_, thought Torak. Slowly, he stood up, pulling Renn with him. He was about to lift her off the ground and carry her when she said quietly, "I can walk."

Torak set her down next to him, and barely noticed when Bale ran back towards his house. He put his arm around Renn's back and placed his hand on her waist, intending to help. She hissed. Torak jerked back as if burned, "What?" he asked, hoping he hadn't hurt her.

"My back…the fence." Her voice wobbled.

"Bad?" He said. She shook her head and stumbled forwards, trying to walk. Torak caught her before she fell and lifted her up to carry her in a front-piggyback. He wrapped his arms around her, being wary of her bruised back and she went limp in his arms.

Then, with Wolf at his side, Torak began the walk to Fin's house.

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**Please R&R!  
Tell me if you think this chapter was a little too OC for Renn? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry that these updates are so inconsistant. But here is chapter 9. Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews, faves and follows. You're awesome to keep up with me. :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own CoAD or it's characters.**

* * *

Three days.

Three days since that night.

Torak hadn't seen Renn in that time. Blaming himself. Not willing to-

-to think about what would have happened if Wolf hadn't chased Aki off. Not willing to think about what could have happened because he'd been too tired to stay at training.

Did she blame him too?

She could, if she wanted to-

He would-

A knock at his door. Torak looked up to see the tanned face of his cousin. The blonde boy walked over to him where he sat by the window. Torak stared towards the beach in the distance. It was getting warmer every day. Maybe he and Renn could go swimming again. They coul-

No-

She wouldn't want to have anything to do with him.

Torak's fingernails dug into his palm as he turned to Bale. "How is she?"

"Renn's…" He let out a sigh. "Nothing fazes her, you know? I remember when she got into a fight with a Deep-Forest-High girl, it got physical pretty quick and Renn got her arm broken." He scratched his jaw. "She didn't even cry, just punched the other girl in the stomach with her free hand and walked off." Bale laughed for a moment before looking out the window too.

"…But this..." The blonde sat on Torak's bed.

"Mm." Was all Torak said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both looking through the glass into the distance, as if trying to see what the future held. Bale broke the quiet. "She asked for you."

"To tell me never to talk to her again?" He looked down.

"Torak. She doesn't blame you." Bale stood up. Torak angrily shrugged off Bale's hand on his shoulder.

"Well she should! I blame me. Why doesn't anyone else?" Torak stood up to face his cousin. There was now only an inch of height difference between them. Bale gripped his shoulders.

"Torak." He said shortly. "This isn't about you." He pointed to the wall. "Right now Renn, your only friend, is over there alone and blaming herself for all of this."

"How can she blame herself?" Torak frowned.

"I don't know! But she does and she wants to see you, _her_ only friend. Maybe you can figure it out." Bale replied, exasperated.

Torak made a fist and hit the wall. Bale didn't say anything. Torak sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Alright. But I swear if I ever see Aki again I'll-"

Bale cut him off. "-Torak, this is about Renn okay? The police are dealing with _him_. You worry about the girl across the road."

* * *

Yellow-

Purple-

Green-

Brown-

Renn counted the colours that patterned her wrists. She pulled the sleeves of her jumper down over her hands, to make herself stop looking. Her mind drifted to Torak. She hadn't seen him since he'd carried her to the doorstep of her house and sat her on the couch to grab something to put against her forehead for the bleeding. After that it was a bit of a blur. Fin-Kedinn came down with face set after Torak yelled for him, he drove her to hospital and Torak was left at her doorstep. A fading figure in the distance.

She could clearly remember his face though. Messy black hair had framed skin that was paler than it's usual tan, he'd been breathing hard, which was strange seeing how fit he was. And his expression, the look in his eyes, it looked like his heart had been ripped form his body. Tears threatened at the memory.

Why hadn't he visited? Did he think she blamed him? Renn frowned, wiping her eyes, sometimes she hated how reserved he was. She sighed and leaned against the wall, wincing as it pressed against her bruises. She hadn't seen them yet. She'd avoided mirrors since she'd got home from the hospital.

She was Renn Kedinn, the independent, tough, red-haired girl who'd been able to fend for herself most of her life. Yet in this moment she was frightened and scared, not of the outside, not of another attack. Frightened that she'd somehow lost her only friend.

* * *

Torak looked down at the bag hanging from the strap he held in his hand. It was black as night, a simple died canvas shoulder bag. He'd never taken much notice of it before. But right now his gaze took in every detail.

Every strand of frayed edge-

Every pull in the material-

It's weight; heavier than he'd expected-

It's smell; fresh air, cut grass, strawberries-

And the little raven badge pinned to the strap-

Torak wiped the pad of his thumb over its shiny surface, getting rid of a speck of dirt. The raven stared back at him. He slung the bag over his right shoulder, running his hand from the top, down the strap to rest at the hook connecting it to the bag. Just like Renn did every school morning. Something else he'd never noticed-

But could remember clearly now-

After Renn had driven away with Fin, Torak had gone back to the alleyway to pick up her things. Her bag had opened when it was dropped on the cement and Torak gently packed in the torn and messy notebooks she used everyday. He found her phone a few steps away and vaguely wondered why she hadn't used it. Her darts case was also picked up, its smooth surface scratched and dirty, he'd put it in the bag as well. And then the bag had sat on his desk for the past two days. Not doing anything but reminding him of her, till now.

Torak walked slowly across the road to Renn's house, Wolf trailing behind him. He made his way up the short driveway to the steps to her door. He was about to knock when Fin opened it. Torak tried not to look startled; covering his surprise by saying he was there to see Renn. Fin eyed him a moment with a stony blue gaze before stepping aside.

"She's upstairs in her room." He told him.

Torak nodded, stepping over the threshold and into the house. He turned right, walking silently up the stairs while Wolf lay down near Fin in the lounge, giving them privacy. He already knew which room was hers, having had to fetch textbooks during their study sessions where he'd offer to get them for her. She would always smile when he did, the little freckle at the corner of her mouth rising with her lips.

Her door was half open-

Torak quietly peered in-

He spotted her instantly. She was sitting on her bed, legs curled up and a book resting on her knees. He scanned the title and read something about darts technique. She was wearing a worn grey/brown hoodie that looked two sizes too big. Black shorts that came to her mid-thigh. The sleeves of her jumper were pulled out fully, covering her hands to her knuckles. Her hair was loose and hung down past her shoulders. Torak's eyes followed the thick fiery locks to her temple, where there was a stark white bandage. A bandage he knew covered the little stiches on her forehead. She'd only needed two, but still.

He cleared his throat and tapped on the doorframe lightly. Renn looked up, confusion covering her dark eyes for a moment before she realised whom it was.

"Hey." She said it so normally, as if they were just meeting up before walking to school, that Torak smiled.

"Hey yourself." He replied, walking over to her. She closed the book and placed it on her pillow. Torak stopped a few steps from her. "I-uh- brought this." He slipped her bag off his shoulder, holding it out to her.

She smiled and took the strap from his hand, their skin touched for a moment. "Thank you." Renn said. Torak examined her face, the skin around her left eye and the bandage was an ugly yellow/purple. But the smile that tugged at her lips was the same as always and so were the freckles that spatted across her nose. She moved her covers and made a space for him next to her. Torak took off his shoes and climbed up, leaning against the wall while Renn hugged her legs.

No one said anything for a minute-

"What took you so long?" Renn asked quietly.

Torak looked up, his head making a soft thud as it connected to the wall. "I didn't think you'd want to see me. I thought you might've been angry that I didn't stay with you like I should have."

Renn glanced at him. "Torak, I don't blame you. I sent you away, remember?"

"Yeah…Bale-…Bale said that you blamed yourself." He said, meeting her gaze. "Please tell me that's not true."

"I don't. I mean, not really." She sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about it. Maybe I should have said yes to him in the first place." Her fingers tucked a stay piece of hair behind her ear. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you to leave."

"Renn-"

"I had my phone in my hand." She lifted up her left hand, as if imagining the phone was sitting in it. Her sleeve slipped back and Torak saw the ugly bruising around her wrist. "I should have called…but I just…couldn't." A few tears left her eyes, followed by more. Torak had never seen her cry before.

He pulled her towards him on instinct. Her forehead found its way to his collarbone and he moved around so that she sat between his legs, leaning on his chest. He felt his shirt pull as Renn gripped it with her fists. Her shoulders heaved a few times. Torak wrapped his arms around her in comfort. He gripped a little too tightly and heard Renn give a small groan. He loosened the embrace. "Bad?" He asked, talking about her bruised back.

Renn's crying shudders slowed. "Don't know." She mumbled into the skin near his neck. Torak ran his fingers through her hair lightly, savouring the moment, even if the circumstances weren't ideal. Her dark eyes peered up at him. "I haven't looked." She wiped her eyes. "I don't even know what my face looks like."

Torak frowned and pulled her head back to his chest. A week ago he would never have been so bold. A week ago, he would never have imagined Renn crying in his arms. Carefully he lifted the back of her jumper up somewhere just past her lower chest. The skin on her back was pale and smoother than the skin on her arms or face. _Untouched_, he thought vaguely. Save for the angry looking marks that spotted her back. Four of them, dark red dots in a square pattern, obviously form the nails or bolts in a fence, bruises darkly surrounded each one. He felt Renn shiver and let the hoodie fall back down.

Renn looked up, eyebrows raised in question. "Looks pretty sore." Torak told her. "But it's not as bad as this." He pointed to her forehead, touching the middle lightly.

"The stitches? They don't even hurt-"

"No." Torak smiled a little sadly. "The fact that you can't stop thinking it over."

Renn shrugged and he let his hand fall to her back, resting there lightly. "Need's time." She said. "That's what Fin says."

"He's very wise, you're uncle."

"Sometimes I wish he weren't." Renn gave a laugh that surprised him. She smiled. "It can get a little too philosophical around here at times."

Torak laughed as well, that was defiantly something he could imagine. He held onto Renn for a minute or so longer before she wriggled out from the embrace. She slipped her fingers between his and tugged him off the bed and towards the bathroom.

"Wha-?" He began, confused.

"Come on, let's get this over with. I want to see how bad my face is." She said, a smile crossing her face.

Torak saw that it didn't quite reach her eyes.

* * *

**Please R&R :D**


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